That asshole at the Wall had snarled at him - threatened him! He'd stolen Artisan's hole, his salvation, the cure to this madness in the world. Of course, Artisan wasn't a fighter even with the illness ravaging his brain. He'd abandoned the hole to the bloodthirsty lunatic and headed south west, out from the snow and into the sand.

It was there that the frantic, oozing man began to dig once more. As fervently as his decorated paws could manage, even though each forelimb was blistered and pained he dug, and dug, and dug, waiting to hit the other side of the world where he could crawl out a free and healthy wolf once more.

"Speech"

Long, lean legs trotted easily over the sand. This wasn't necessarily home for the free-ranging dog, but it was close enough; it was an area that he excelled in. He had long split from his birth pack of other Carolina Dogs; large and well-off they were, his maturity pushed him away and to explore. Not to lead, no. He quite frankly had no desire to lead. He'd leave that to the stronger dogs, the dominant ones. He would hold his place in a pack, and would not allow himself to be the lowest of the low, but neither did he ever want to fight for the top. It just wasn't him. It was too much effort. He was overall an easy-going guy, not one prone to starting shit.

Since leaving, he had travelled through forests, plains similar to home, deserts - similar to that which bordered his old home - and mountains. He wasn't a fan of the mountains. Snow was fun to play in, but he was much happier to no longer be in any type of northern area. The fields and the plains were where he excelled, and where his pack lived and thrived and grew. Well, his old pack, he supposed.

He certainly wasn't expecting to see on his journey flying sand from a digger. Slowing his gait down, his curiosity got the better of him. This world was quite peculiar and while he was starting to become comfortable with it.. he was still unnerved by the crystals and mushrooms and goo and how it infected others. How would this one be affected? It didn't look like a big creature, but he wasn't certain. He trotted ever the closer, pausing as he caught sight of the wolf. Oh. Nevermind. Definitely a big wolf. Much, much larger than him. MUCH larger than him. He was by no means a small dog, but that didn't compare to the size of the wolves that ranged in this land. And the colors, too. Whereas his ginger blended beautifully in the plains and even the desert, this wolf was... not that. Quite frankly, he was quite beautiful. A falling night sky, though the colors were muted in the fogs that plagued the lands currently. Except.... Eru's eyes dropped to the other canine's paws. Bloody, raw. He'd been digging for a while. "Are you alright?" he ventured cautiously, body posed to flee if need be but otherwise held in a loose, non-threatening manner.

"Speech" "You"

photo by keanai

The sound of pawsteps behind him brought Artisan's snarling head from the hole, whirling toward the stranger and expecting to see the same wolf who'd chased him away from his northern hole to have appeared again in the desert to steal from him another. Though it wasn't the same wolf - if even this creature was a wolf at all. Artisan reluctantly put his teeth away, shuffling uncomfortably as he looked the dog up and down. "I'm alright, are you alright?" He eyed the stranger with wide, crazed eyes.

"This is nothing, don't worry about it, it's just a hole." Artisan moved to position the bulk of his body along the divot in the sand, sniffing loudly to try and prevent the blue ooze from leaking out his nostrils. This stranger was smaller then the last, so perhaps Artisan would have a chance if he was forced to fight him, but he hoped that he could keep the dog oblivious to just how important his hole was and avoid the fight entirely.

"Speech"

The second the wolf whirled around aggressively, Eru immediately bolted backwards several feet, crouching defensively and suspiciously. Ears were flattened, teeth baring in return, body tense. He wasn't going to fight this wolf; there's no way he'd win with the size difference. His people also were not fighters; his people were hunters and survivors. Fight or flight ultimately led to flight, because they wouldn't survive otherwise. To fight - when he was on the larger end of the spectrum for a male, and the majority of his people were smaller - was a death sentence for most. Now, if they were fighting as a pack, that was different; they have, could, and would eviscerate someone who invaded their territory or hurt their pack. Betrayals led to death as surely as trying to fight a giant dire sized wolf by yourself.

However, it seemed like the second the wolf laid eyes on him, that at least some of the tension left his body. Was he expecting someone else? Or just startled, inasmuch as Eru was startled by the extreme reaction? One thing was for certain - this wolf was not alright. He seemed afflicted by the disease that was in this land, a disease that apparently was brand new as of this past winter. Creepy. This guy didn't have... weird growths from his body, but he was oozing blue goo out of his orifices and clearly something was affecting his head. Still, though, he wasn't sure about overall engaging this wolf. At the same time, he had to tread carefully; he didn't want the male to think he was aggressive or threatening when he wasn't.

With a quiet huff, he forced his body to relax. He straightened slowly, one ear pricking, though the other still twitched nervously. His lips dropped back down and his paws were firm on the ground, eyes kind, yet not showing fear. "You don't seem fine," he commented quietly. "However, I am unafflicted as of yet." He wasn't sure he wanted to be afflicted with this strain most of all... the others seemed uncomfortable but at least he wasn't... this?

"It's a hole, yes," he confirmed, nodding. "It's your hole, I see. A very nice one." He took a seat, slowly and calmly, still several feet away from the wolf. "A very important hole, it seems. You don't need to hide it. I won't take it from you." No one could say he wasn't astute, but then again, this wolf wasn't exactly being... subtle. The frantic words, tone, and the attempting to hide it from his sight... yeah something was important about this hole, and Eru wanted nothing to do with it.

"Speech" "You"

photo by keanai

Artisan let out a loud sigh as the stranger admitted that not only was he not going to try and take the hole from him, but that he agreed it was important. He wasn't sick, either, which made Artisan much more comfortable sharing oxygen with him. "Well then, nice to meet you, my name is Artisan Aracari." The politeness within him brought his large head to bow in greeting, a tentative smile upon his maw. Never had Artisan turned down the opportunity to make new friends - at least, not until wolves started getting sick and trying to steal from him salvation. "I'd love to stay and chat but, I really must get this hole dug." The longer he remained not digging, the more his paranoia screamed at him to continue. If he didn't break through the other side of the earth soon, Artisan knew he'd surely die.

"Speech"

Artisan

Your vision blurs for an hour and you are unable to see clearly.



You gain:

• Mushrooms (5x)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

Clearly, Eru had said the right things. Well, that was a relief. He was treading softly here, with not wanting to upset the mildly upset and crazed man but also not wanting to just bolt away. Yay, for success! He relaxed even further as the stranger did, and he returned the stranger's - Artisan's - greeting with a dip of his head himself. "I am Eru. Likewise, it is a pleasure to meet you." But was it really? He wasn't quite certain, but he'd take it. Maybe it would end up good; maybe it would not. Worth a try either way, and with the world the way it was he couldn't just avoid the infected forever. Still, though... this poor dude clearly was getting the brunt of it. His eyes flickered back down to the rubbed raw and bleeding legs and paws of the starry-coated wolf. It quickly became clear that there was a reason for those legs with Artisan's next words, and Tengu's dismay deepened. Damn, he wasn't a healer. He wasn't good at all with anything healing but he knew this wolf's paws needed to be wrapped... in something. Or at the very least, a break. Maybe he could do something about that.

Standing slowly, non-threateningly, and pausing to see a reaction, he nodded to Artisan's words. "I understand," he soothed quietly. He didn't, but what was the harm in a lie? "Perhaps you'd like to chat while digging? I can help if you'd like; it would go faster with two." He'd watch himself with digging, of course, but maaaybe he could get the wolf to slow down a bit if he uh, had some help.

"Speech" "You"

photo by keanai